SgtFang Vader ANH, How Do you Attatch mask to dome???

[clancampbell]

Well, i've finished my SgtFang Vader ANH, no picks yet until i figure out how to stick the face plate to the dome....
I've used velcro stuck down with contact adhesive, but the dome just wants to fall back and not stay put.

To all you SgtFang owners...How have you solved this????

Thanks guys.....one step away from complettion....

Rich

 

[CSMacLaren]

Are you going to be trooping/costuming with this, or is this for display only?

 

[clancampbell]

It's going to be for display. I just don't want the 2 parts to suddenly separate and go sliding to the floor.

Rich

 

[oblagon]

Some plastic tabs came with mine. I assumed they were to cantilever off the faceplate so as to give the dome something to rest on.

 

[CSMacLaren]

If they're resin thick band-aid shapes, then no, not exactly. Originally they were nylon and were a kind of dual-locking velcro by 3M. The inside of the dome would have had a "receiver" with three corresponding tabs to connect to three tabs on the crown of the mask. They were also screwed on. Castings of the original inherit the tabs and screwheads. The receiver I mentioned will determine the height the helmet sits above the mask. You don't want it too high and too low.

 

[clancampbell]

I assumed these tabs were purely for accurately replicating the original mounting details of the screen used helmet.

Rich

 

[travsall]

I just finished my ANH Vader and played around with a BUNCH of different dome mounting, from trying to track down the ogiginal 'apple tabs' to 3m Duel lock tape. In the end, velcro worked the best by far. I used a diamond shaped piece on the forehead, above the bridge of the nose, and to steady the dome, I hot glued 2 pieces of foam inside so it kind of grabs the face plate on either side and holds it in place.

 

[clancampbell]

Guess i'll just have to experiment with foam and stuff.
Thanks for the ideas, but keep em coming!!!

Rich

 

[KevVader]

Try epoxying two sections of ABS pipe on the dome and top of facemask. Make the outer diameter of one fits into the inner diameter of the other for a tight fit.

Like this...

 

[bubba fett]

Try epoxying two sections of ABS pipe on the dome and top of facemask. Make the outer diameter of one fits into the inner diameter of the other for a tight fit.

I agree Kev, that can be a good way of doing it if you have not painted the mask yet. Keeps the dome in proper position for the most part. Be very careful how you do the initial setup though or the dome won't ever be positioned correctly. Mac is right, the Apple type tabs are most accurate and I would go that route for display.

I ended up using some rare earth magnets on the helmet and dome so it lines up fairly accurately every time. I still ended up using a small strip of Velcro on the forehead though, just to make sure it didn't pop off while trooping.

 

[clancampbell]

Thanks for the help guys!
I used to have a DP DLX that had the 2 pipe sections to hold the dome in place. It's a popular method, i know, but i don't think i can retro fit these without risking all the work i've put into this so far.

Magnets, eh? Interesting....how did you attach them? Any pics?

Thanks again

Rich

 

[Servo]

I've bought a lot of rare earth magnets from K&J Magnetics. They have plastic coated magnets in different sizes. The plastic coating makes them easy to glue/epoxy into place.

 

[CSMacLaren]

Regarding the mounting system - if I recall correctly, the SgtFangs are rotocast resin and there is no fiberglass or gelcoat. If you put too much pressure on any particular point on resin, it will crack - that's the nature of resin (at least the stuff used on my Fett bucket, which has cracked.). I would strongly suggest reinforcing the crown before you do any pipe attachment.

Also, it might be fun to have a slight gap between the mask's ring and the dome ring, and to fill up that space with fuzzy velcro (instead of the hook-based velcro). You want a snug fit, but you don't want such a tight fit that causes you to jerk the mounting rings that doing so puts more torque on the foundation of the system. Bubba's suggestion of epoxy is great, but in some cases I've seen epoxy being stronger than the resin, and the resin may still crack long before the epoxy.

I do believe any cast tabs you may have received are purely aesthetic and nonfunctional. The real thing had these mushroom looking knobs. Each tab had them, so when put together, they interlocked.

Modern velcro is wonderful and would do the trick as well.

 

[CSMacLaren]

Thanks for the help guys!
I used to have a DP DLX that had the 2 pipe sections to hold the dome in place. It's a popular method, i know, but i don't think i can retro fit these without risking all the work i've put into this so far.

Magnets, eh? Interesting....how did you attach them? Any pics?

Thanks again

Rich

Please post a pic of the current state of your mask. :thumbsup

 

[clancampbell]

Ok, i basically just made it up as i went and used 3 sanded down polystyrene blocks to get the dome secure.

Here's a couple of pics of the helmet.....

I'm really terrible at taking pics.....

Rich